National Tide 1980

Life is like an ever-changing kaleidoscope.

Sometimes just by turning it gently, you can create various colorful pictures.

Ning Weimin is like this.

His life has changed dramatically since he took a job at Pierre Carton.

Every morning, Ning Weimin comes to work in the most majestic and tallest building on Chang'an Street.

In front of the clear glass revolving door, under the attention of the upright doorman, he walked into this famous hotel that was full of mystery and awe in the minds of ordinary Beijing citizens.

Coming out of the elevator, the corridor leading to Pierre Carton's company was covered with thick wool carpets.

The oncoming housekeeping staff would greet Ning Weimin with a smile.

At this time, Ning Weimin would also nod his head like a gentleman.

When Ning Weimin walked into the office, the first thing he saw were the two female employees in charge of the company's front desk.

As a deputy manager, Ning Weimin deserved to be welcomed with a smile by two girls who were not pretty but very gentle.

And he also has the right to ask them to make coffee or tea for themselves.

Ning Weimin does not have his own office, but his desk is in a good position near the window, and there is a simple partition to protect privacy.

When he stood in front of the glass window and looked out of the window while sipping a cup of fragrant tea, he could have a panoramic view of Chang'an Street.

This road, the widest in the country, often gives Ningwei people the feeling of a big river.

The "other side of the river" is full of state ministries and commissions office buildings scattered high and low.

National Ocean Shipping, Textile Industry Bureau, Railway Public Security Bureau...

In this "river", there are cars, bicycles, and tourists going to Wangfujing or Tiananmen Square.

It is indeed like a crucian carp crossing a river, the flow never stops...

As for the intensity of the work, it was much easier than Ning Weimin imagined.

Since the company has just been established, many substantive businesses have not yet had time to roll out.

I currently work here, which is more of a formal meaning.

It just shows that Pierre Cardin has a foot in the world's largest market.

Therefore, the only ones who are really busy every day are Pierre Carton, the boss, and Song Huagui, the CEO.

On the contrary, the employees feel relaxed and stress-free.

It was not at all like Ning Weimin imagined, where everyone in the company was running around like clockwork.

Basically no one works overtime.

Everyone can enjoy a comfortable office environment and free coffee in a good and unhurried mood.

The canteen is also good. Song Huagui was able to let his company's employees eat in the staff canteen of the Capital Hotel.

The food there is better than that in ordinary state ministries.

Think about it, Ning Weimin earns a salary several times higher than that of the minister, but his working status is not as exciting as it sounds!

Someone once said that the white-collar workers of foreign companies in the 1990s were god-like existences.

It is conceivable that Ning Weimin lived this kind of godly life nearly ten years early. What a transcendent existence he was!

However, the resulting changes may not all be good.

As the saying goes, there are gains and losses, and not everything is perfect.

For example, the "luxury goods wholesale" business that Ning Weimin and Zhang Shihui have been cooperating with will inevitably be affected.

Since I am no longer always available, I am not sure when I will be free.

As the party responsible for supplying goods, Ning Weimin must purchase some popular products in advance and store them in case of emergency.

As a result, the past model of not having to buy goods at all has completely changed, and he will definitely feel a certain amount of pressure on funds.

Fortunately, it's October, because of the National Day and intense training.

Ning Weimin didn't go to ghost markets, cultural relics stores, or painting shops.

Basically all the money earned is kept in hand.

As for the stamp market, there are fewer and fewer high-quality stamps available, so you have to try your luck.

Ning Weimin also has a high degree of control over Monkey Tickets, and it is very easy to sell high and buy low.

In fact, when calculated over this period of time, he actually made money in the postal market.

Finally, add the one thousand foreign exchange coupons just issued by Pierre Carton.

Ning Weimin also scraped together more than 10,000 foreign exchange coupons as capital for stocking up.

He bought seven imported color TVs, 12 boxes of Maotai and four boxes of Zhonghua and placed them in the guest room of Chongwenmen Hotel for Zhang Shihui to use at any time.

Needless to say, there are hidden dangers when so much goods are packed in a hotel room.

Ning Weimin was not afraid of others investigating him, as the charges of speculation were no longer implicated on him.

Because the room was rented in the name of Pierre Carton, he is now the deputy manager of the operations department of Pierre Carton.

Anyone who wants to ask and learn this will think that what is going on here is normal business behavior.

So when it comes to what Ning Weimin is really afraid of, the only thing he worries about is theft at night.

These things are undoubtedly like a huge treasure house in this era, and they will inevitably attract the attention of some restless people.

It's really not that Ning Weimin is too cautious.

Because at this time, grocery stores had to hire an old man to work the night shift.

Pastry theft is something that often happens in unguarded grocery stores.

There was no other way, just to ensure the safety of the goods, Ning Weimin even slept in a hotel room every night.

But this inevitably made Kang Shude a little dissatisfied.

The old man thought that his apprentice was suffering from the disease of wealth and could no longer live in a small bungalow.

The so-called having to look at the goods all day long is just an excuse and an excuse.

In addition, suits these days are still the signature clothing of foreigners, and few Chinese people dress up like this.

Ning Weimin appeared in front of his old neighbors in a suit and leather shoes.

It seems to have further solidified his ideological tendency of worshiping foreign countries and pursuing pleasure.

Because of this, his reputation among the residents of Shan'er Hutong plummeted.

Just like Prince Gong back then, he was nicknamed a "fake foreign devil".

How unjust this is.

As for Ning Weimin's own feelings, it was certainly painful to dress like this that made him stand out from the crowd.

It’s just that the source of the pain is not the gossip behind others’ backs, but the discomfort of wearing a suit and the practical difficulties faced in transportation.

First of all, Ning Weimin is used to wearing clothes made of pure cotton and loose in style these days.

Now I have to wear a formal suit like this every day, which is respectable, but it is really awkward and tight.

Secondly, there are no private cars at the moment, and even Beijing Subway Line 2 has not yet arrived.

So even if Ning Weimin is dressed as a five-person or six-person person, he still has to squeeze into the bus to go to work.

But what are buses like these days?

During rush hours, drivers often have to jump out of the cab and push people in with their knees to close the door.

Think about it, after such a baptism, when Ning Weimin got out of the car, could he still look at his suit?

On the first day of work, Ning Weimin arrived at the Jingcheng Hotel and finally squeezed out. It was a wrinkle all over his body.

The leather shoes also had to be stepped on several times, leaving footprints all over them.

He couldn't help but feel so embarrassed. He had to go to the lobby toilet to tidy up before he had the nerve to report to the company on the second floor.

So the next day, he switched to riding a bicycle to work.

But as soon as he rode a bicycle, he found that his whole body felt uncomfortable.

I didn't dare to exert my strength when the wind was against me, for fear that my pants would open.

And along the way, other people on the street looked at him like a peep show, probably wondering what country he was from.

It made him more eye-catching than the real foreign devils.

Besides, there was no place for him to store his bicycle when he arrived at the Jingcheng Hotel.

He had to cycle to Wangfujing and find a place to store his car.

Good guy, of course Ning Weimin can't stand such embarrassment and trouble.

So he simply changed to Route 11 and walked to work on two legs.

Fortunately, Chongwenmen Hotel is not far from Jingcheng Hotel.

Walk from Chongwenmen to Dongdan, then turn to Wangfujing, which is only three kilometers away, and it only takes 45 minutes to walk there.

Although I am a little tired, I have also exercised my body.

It wasn't until his legs were numb for several days that he gradually became enlightened.

Why do you think you should follow the example of those people in the company who regard wearing suits as a status symbol?

Wouldn't it be over if you store your suit in the office and change it when you come? This is called one-two.

I have to say that things in the world are still so interesting.

Regardless of the neighbors in Shan'er Hutong, they all regard Ning Weimin as a degenerate example of pursuing a bourgeois lifestyle.

Everyone can't stand his foreign style.

But on the other hand, the colleagues at Pierre Carton Company still thought that Ning Weimin was too rustic and had too little knowledge.

It seems that he is not qualified to be a senior executive in such an international fashion company.

I don’t know if it’s because the salary is too high, or because as a white-collar worker in a foreign company, the benefits are too good.

Most of these people are a bit snobbish, quite grateful to their French bosses, and admire everything about Western developed countries.

Especially for Paris, France, their yearning has reached an all-time high.

It's a bit like Paris, where the moon is the roundest and even the air is sweet.

If you don't go and see it in this life, you will definitely regret it for the rest of your life.

So they secretly laughed at Ning Weimin for not recognizing foreign cigarettes and only smoking peonies.

They also didn't understand why Ning Weimin didn't enjoy free coffee.

You have to spend your own money to buy scented tea and put it in the pantry.

Of course, in their eyes, Ning Weimin's habit of coming in ordinary clothes and then going to the bathroom to change into a suit every day is even more of a joke.

Many people understood this to mean that Ning Weimin was reluctant to wear it because he was afraid that if it wore out, he would have to spend money to buy it again.

So everyone started talking secretly, wondering why the boss had to find such a misfit and a miscellaneous person to be the deputy manager of the operations department.

Especially one day, when someone revealed that Ning Weimin had no academic qualifications and was directly employed.

Then there will be even more suspicion and speculation.

In the end, everyone agreed that Ning Weimin might be the son of a certain court official, a figure like Gao Yanei in "Water Margin".